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Dauntless
A couple of years back a fellow writer (John M. Davis) and I had an idea. Out of that idea came a universe that we shared and developed. We were excited by it and pulled out all the stops. I wrote a couple of books in this universe and he wrote a book in it. We had grand plans. Our ambitions had us slated to keep on filling this universe with stories and characters until we couldn’t do it any longer – and hopefully others would follow in our steps. Heck, I even put together a website that encouraged feedback and ideas in the form of new technologies, new characters, new… everything! And the submitter would then get credit and become a part of this universe as well.
Sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it? I still think it does… but if this is the first you’re hearing of it, then it must be obvious that it flopped. The books sales weren’t there. No for me, and not for John. We retreated to our more established series and universes / worlds / characters, knowing that we had an audience there and the ability to continue paying the bills that way.
But this universe never left me. The simple truth is that writing is a labor of love and passion for me. The income is a must-have as well, but I supplement it with a day job. After a couple of years of letting the characters languish, I knew I had to go back to them. I had to know what happened next. I had to share their victories and their pain. Even if that meant a couple of months spent working on something that didn’t sell in a system where I very much needed to make sales, I had to try. I was determined and, while I was sharing the experiences and lives of those characters, I was fearless.
It was only natural that the book be titled the very word that embodied those words : Dauntless. Dauntless is science fiction and adventure, but like any true sci-fi story, it’s about the people within its pages and how they live and think and feel. There are space battles and gunfights, amazing new technology and bitter feuds. Family rivalry, betrayals, and even a solar system-wide civil war. Dauntless was a pretty big undertaking, but it was sheer joy to write and, I have to say, even more fun to read. If you haven’t given the Terminus series a try yet — and I’ve seen the sales numbers so I know most of you haven’t— you really should give it a shot. You won’t be disappointed.
The crew of the Raptor must save an unruly princess from a solar system-wide civil war. A simple escort and run job — what could go wrong?
The Nelanian culture is based on aggression, war, and battling with themselves. Everybody’s got a stake in the war — profits and power to be had. Betrayal and sacrifice are justified under the pretense of the Greater Good. Earning a slightly dishonest paycheck has never been seemed so admirable.
Even the Princess Tor has been contracted to save has her own agenda… an agenda that doesn’t take Tor, his crew, or his ship into consideration. When escape is no longer an option there’s only one way left to get the job done. There’s no right or wrong side to this war, just a winning side. That’s the side Tor intends to be on.
Will there be more Terminus books – I plan on it! Not quite yet though. First I’m back into my Dark Universe setting, with Aden, Twyf… and so many characters I don’t dare to name them all or this will end up being far too long. The new book is titled Under the Dark and I have to say that I haven’t had this much fun writing a DU book in a long time… since the first trilogy, to be entirely honest. Honestly I’m hoping this book sets up a new three story arc. That’s my current plan, at least.
But that’s a month or more away, so to pass the time don’t forget to pick up Dauntless and get sucked into another amazing setting!
To learn more about Jason Halstead visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.
Celebrity Moment
I was taking a break from reality the other day and playing an online computer game (Mechwarrior Online, if you must know). In the process I was talking to a couple of people that I’d never met before. The topic quickly came up asking me if I was a writer (my handle in the game is ‘BooksbyJason’). That led to: what do you write. The next question was what name I wrote under. So I shared my name. And that’s when it happened.
This complete stranger from parts unknown (he was somewhere in the continental US, I think) said, “Hey, I’ve heard of you. One of my friends recommended your books to me.”
I sat there on the couch with my laptop in my lap and stared at the screen. I looked up at my wife but she was engrossed in a television show and missed it. I went back to the conversation and continued to briefly talk books before the lasers and autocannons started flying and our robots were getting shot out from under us. All in all, it was a good game. And yes, I regularly get my butt kicked in that game. Or any online game these days – I don’t have time to practice and get good. That and I don’t have the reflexes of a thirteen year old anymore. Or an eighteen year old. Or twenty five. Or thirty. Or… well, you get the point.
I even had a decent sales day that day, selling over sixty books. The next day that same guy emailed me asking what book I’d recommend as a starter. That’s a tough question and it required a very long email in response. I saved it though, because I get asked that fairly often. In fact, I’m going to post it as a blog sometime soon. Ironically enough, another person on a message board from the same game ran into me in the game the next day and said he’d read my profile and checked me out. He was impressed with all the books and good reviews / comments on them. Back to back confirmation, how cool is that?
But a clap on the back doesn’t pay the bills, and that became apparent when yesterday turned out to be my worst sales day since early 2012. Not sure what the deal is with that, but I really hope it doesn’t happen again! My response is to keep writing like crazy and get as much going as I can. My books are languishing a bit at the moment while I’m helping my wife with her new paranormal romance serial novel (Claimed by the Beast). We’re on part four of many (5, 6, or 7) right now, but I may take a break from helping and work on a new Voidhawk or Vitalis book next.
But back to the original point – my minor celebrity moment tickled my all night and into the next day. Very cool stuff, I have to say, but like I mentioned above, praise and recognition doesn’t pay the bills. Remember that, my writing friends. Hard work and dedication is what it takes to succeed and make a change.
To learn more about Jason Halstead visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.
Transcend – To Go Beyond Range or Limits
Imagine fields filled with wheat and corn. Orchards full of trees laden with bananas, almonds, oranges, apples, and more. Ranches with tens of thousands of cattle. All of it raised and harvested in the oldest of human professions— farming for the sake of providing for the human race.
For a small group of kids on the terraformed planet of Venus, that’s exactly what life is like. They were born there and they grew up there, knowing what it was to put in a hard day’s work and feeling the satisfaction that comes from reaping the fruit of their labors at the end of the day. And for most of them, unfortunately, will die there.
A wind of change is blowing and it brought with it an army of soldiers and war machines. A revolution, long brewed in secrecy, is laying waste to humanity to set things right. Or as right as their leader, the newly elected President Ondalla, believes things should be.
For the kids investigating the strange noises in the forests of Venus, only death or capture awaits. Two of those kids, anxious to explore a life of their own in a budding relationship, are stripped apart and forced to live different lives. For them the only option is the futile act of resistance or accepting fate and turning their backs on what happened to their family and friends.
Following in the wake of some amazing dystopian science fiction like The Hunger Games and Divergent comes my latest series: Transcendent. Transcendent is set to fill in the holes and take the reader to a new future with new possibilities. Tragic romance, intrigue, action and adventure, and even some giant robots make for a coming of age story that cannot be denied.
It’s available on Amazon and Smashwords right now, with more to come in the very near future. Get your copy before your friends start talking about it and leave you wondering what you’re missing.
To learn more about Jason Halstead visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.
Books by Jason 